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You're damn right we will.If India wants to build other dams downstream of the planned Chinese dam, what use would it do?
Also, If there is a serious consideration of the pre-emption law on behalf of the GOI, would India put up a serious effort to do so? I only ask because construction has already commenced on the Chinese side and I have not seen any plans on the Indian side besides talk.
I'd like to see an official source corroborating your statement that "construction has already commenced on the Chinese side"... moreover that the Brahmaputra will be diverted to its arid North, because from the very recent article (May 26, 2009) quoting former Water minister Wang Shucheng, it is not purported to be. Moreover if construction has indeed commenced, it has commenced very recently, since it was slated to begin only in 2009 in the Tibetan areas of Pema Koe (this is confirmed both by officially issued statements by the CCP and by a Chinese-inspired dissertation to that effect in the 'Scientific American').
As for the 'Indian commitment' to pre-emption, your answer lies here. Dams our something we definitely don't take lightly. The following is an article from early 2008:
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Arunachal Pradesh, India Part 1- The Lohit River
Posted by Ebb and Flow Productions at 1/4/2008 12:01 AM
Arunachal Pradesh is located in far eastern India snuggled between Burma, Bhutan, Tibet and Bangladesh. The region is home to over 10 distinct indigenous tribes of people each with their own language and religion. Geographically the state is dominated by the mighty Brahmaputra River, its large tributaries flow from Tibet through the Himalayas and into the gigantic flood plain down below. The Lohit, the Dibang, and the Siang Rivers form the mighty flood plain that is known locally as the Brahmaputra River.
India has 168 large hydro-electric projects planned in this region which is the "future powerhouse" of one of the world’s most populous countries. India is developing at a rapid pace and has over 1 billion people which make it extremely energy hungry. The state of Arunachal Pradesh is naturally attractive to the power companies for hydro-electric power generation because of the large gradient, the huge volume of water and relatively low local population. Unfortunately for whitewater boaters these factors all make the rivers of Arunachal some of the most amazing river trips in the world.
Our first river trip in Arunachal was the Lohit River. The Lohit originates in Tibet and flows through the Himalayas and helps form the mighty Brahmaputra. The Lohit canyon has many villages where the people live as subsistence farmers and hunters. The canyon is home of leopards, monkeys, deer, and many other species including the rodents of unusual size (ROUS.) The trip took us 5 days and everyone agreed that it was one of the best runs we had ever done, amazing scenery, clean water, friendly people, classic whitewater, and perfect weather. We had an estimated 8,000 cfs at the take-out which seemed to be an ideal flow. The team included: Charlie Center, Erick Conklin, Seth Warren, Ben Stookesbury, Lama Kundun, Katie Scott, Lizzy English and I.
After 5 epic days on the river we reached the take-out at the mouth of the river exhausted and in awe when reality set in. We were met by our shuttle drivers and a team of engineers and surveyors. The engineers were working on the design of the lower of the two huge dams planned on the Lohit. The lower of the two dams, one of the engineers explained, would be about 600 feet high, produce 12,000 megawatts and be the smaller of the two dams. Construction will start in as soon as 2 years and the both dams together will effectively flood the entire canyon.
Scott interviewing an engineer about the dam project at the take-out.
The Last Descent Project: Arunachal Pradesh, India Part 1- The Lohit River